Asia markets mixed as investors further digest China’s modest growth target

Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded mixed on Monday as investors further digested China’s growth target set in its parliamentary sessions and looked ahead to a week of economic data.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision Tuesday, with economists surveyed by Reuters expecting to see a 25 basis point hike in its cash rate.

The Nikkei 225 rose 1.21% and the Topix climbed 0.9%. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.4% and the Kosdaq climbed 1.01% as the nation’s inflation showed further easing in February.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% and then Shenzhen Component inched 0.32% lower after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang released the nation’s government work report on Sunday. The Hang Seng index fell 0.35% in Hong Kong.

The U.S. non-farm payroll will be a key focus this week with expectations to see cooled hiring, prompting the Federal Reserve to maintain a smaller rate hike pace.

Stocks on Wall Street ended the week higher as Treasury yields eased from their recent highs and investors weighed the cumulative impact from Fed hikes already implemented and digested this week’s comments from the central bank.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.17%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.61%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.97%. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped below the 4% threshold.

— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Hakyung Kim contributed to this report